The East and West Temples

Chen HengqingNanhai Publication Company · ChinaJun 2024

Rating 3.3
Word count
296 words
Chapters
2

Tags

Eastern Philosophy Trade FairsClay FigurineStreet LifeCraftsmanCapital CustomsSeasonal FestivalsTemple Fair MarketFolk CustomsFolk BeliefQing Beijing

Summary

In the capital, on the third and eighth days of every month, the Eastern and Western Temples took turns holding markets. Goods of every kind were spread out, men and women gathered in crowds, and jewels and curios glittered in rows. All who lived in the capital saw this for themselves; there is no need to describe it at length. Only the craft of clay portrait figures—even the skill of Liu Lan of the Yuan dynasty could not match it (there is a temple stele in the capital that says Liu Lan molded figures). I once saw a roly-poly figure three feet tall, its brows, eyes, mouth, and nose so vivid they seemed alive. It was displayed in the market and remained unsold for a long time. When I asked why, the shopkeeper said: “Ever since Zi Buyu said the roly-poly was a demon, the story has passed from one person to another, and no one dares buy one. This piece was finished ten years ago.” I had returned from beyond the pass to grow old, and passing through the capital, I saw the object was still there. So I wrote a quatrain: “Who scooped up the soft red dust of the heavenly street? The clay figure is molded by human skill. Now I return home old, leaning on a turtledove staff, ashamed before the white-haired roly-poly.”

Editor's review

This note opens with the monthly markets at the Eastern and Western Temples of the capital and proceeds in an unhurried tone: first it describes the bustle of goods piled together and men and women gathering in crowds, then narrows to a single clay roly-poly figure, moving from object to person and from present to past with clear layers. By citing the old matter of Liu Lan’s statues in the Yuan dynasty and the demon tale from Zi Buyu, it shows both an antiquarian’s delight and the lingering flavor of strange tales, so that a piece of marketplace hearsay does not read flatly. The author, returned from beyond the pass to grow old, leans on his staff as he passes the market and writes a poem before the white-haired roly-poly, setting object and self against each other; the self-mockery of his late years carries warmth, and this is the most savorworthy part of the whole piece. The essay is short and well suited as an entry point for understanding old Beijing’s local color, the note genre, and the mood of a scholar in his final years; it can also be read alongside works such as Zi Buyu and Dijing Jingwulue to see the tension between rumor and record. When reading, one should savor its narrative rhythm and poetic ending rather than demand textual verification of every detail.

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Reading tips

  1. First read through once to feel the narrative turn from the market to the statue, then go back and read the poem section closely.
  2. Read it alongside the relevant entry in Zi Buyu to see how rumor enters a note.
  3. After reading, note the capital place names and statue craftsmanship mentioned in the text and keep them as anecdotal cards.
  4. If using it as a writing reference, pay attention to its short-piece structure: from object to person, closing with a poem.

About the publisher

Nanhai Publication Company China · Founded in 1988

Nanhai Publication Company is a comprehensive publisher known for its literature and arts titles, covering fields such as classical poetry, martial arts fiction, and folk literature. Judging from the more than 1,600 books in the database, the company has released classical poetic works including the Nineteen Old Poems and the Nine Songs, as well as multiple volumes of Huanzhulouzhu's series The Swordsmen of Mount Shu, along with related writings by authors such as Guan Hanqing, Qu Yuan, Zuo Si, and Wang Zhihuan. Its publishing character lies in balancing the organization of classic texts with the dissemination of popular literature, placing poetry anthologies alongside long martial arts novels and presenting a relatively diverse literary profile. Public information is limited, and further details about its editorial practices and series planning remain to be supplemented.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 东西庙

FAQ

Is this note mainly about the temple fair or the clay figure? Both. It begins with the Eastern and Western Temples taking turns holding markets and describes the bustle of goods and crowds, but the focus quickly settles on a three-foot-tall clay roly-poly in the market. From the fineness of the molding and its long failure to sell, it brings in the demon tale from Zi Buyu and the shopkeeper’s explanation, and ends with the author, old and returned, passing the market and writing a poem. The temple fair is only the lead-in; the clay figure and the reflection on human affairs are the main text.
What is the function of mentioning Liu Lan’s statues? The author uses the old matter of Liu Lan’s molding skill in the Yuan dynasty as a comparison, saying that the clay portrait work before him is so fine that even Liu Lan could not match it, and he mentions that a temple stele in the capital records Liu Lan’s statues. This is a method of using the past to set off the present: it raises the craft level of the clay figures in the market and prepares for the later description of the roly-poly as vividly lifelike, giving a piece of marketplace hearsay an antiquarian and anecdotal flavor.
Why did the roly-poly remain unsold for so long? According to the shopkeeper, after Zi Buyu told of the roly-poly as a demon, the story passed from one person to another and people did not dare buy one. This statue had been finished ten years earlier and was still displayed in the market. The author does not judge whether the rumor is true or false; he only records the shopkeeper’s words as they were, and at the end uses a poem to mock himself, placing the demon tale, the craftsmanship, and the reflection on human affairs side by side and leaving room for afterthought.

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About the author

Chen Hengqing Author · Chinese · 1844–1920

Chen Hengqing (1844–1920), courtesy name Zijiu, was a native of Weixian in Shandong (present-day Weicheng District, Weifang). A late Qing official and scholar, he passed the provincial examination in 1873 and the metropolitan examination in 1886. He served successively as a secretary in the Ministry of Works, rising through the Waterways, Construction, and Colonization Departments, and later held posts as Supervising Censor of the Ministry of War, Investigating Censor of the Henan Circuit, and Chief Supervising Censor. In 1908 he was appointed prefect of Jinzhou. He retired at sixty and wrote works including Jianshu Xian Notes (also known as Jili Qingtan) and Unofficial Gleanings of the Late Qing. His extant writings are considerable, with 154 titles held in our collection, many drawing on folk literature and Eastern philosophy. They touch on modern upheavals such as the militia conflicts, the Boxer movement, and the Nian rebels, as well as rural tales and social types like foxes and swindlers, and social issues such as Manchu-Han differences, bearing the documentary flavor of note-style historiography. Public information is limited, and his literary standing and influence await further study.